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Survivor's Guide to 2007: Messaging & Collaboration: Page 7 of 9

IT managers who've long waged war to keep consumer-grade technologies off their networks may need to lay down their arms. New-media software can be invaluable in the enterprise for fostering collaboration and improving work flow. A blog is an ad hoc way for one person to communicate with many and optionally let them comment back. A wiki lets multiple people work on a project and gather ideas--you can reap some knowledge-management benefits without rolling out a full KM system.





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And these apps won't necessarily become a security nightmare. Wikis now support built-in access control and LDAP integration. Blogs can be limited to registered users. These products are generally lightweight and easy to deploy and maintain.

Companies are experimenting with blogs and Wikis as a communication and collaboration tool. NWC's parent company, CMP Media, has a highly successful internal blog for communication across multiple publications, as well as to solicit input on products and services.

As we discuss in "Navigating Risks and Rewards", companies that don't take advantage of new media will be at a disadvantage. But you must develop a well-defined policy around public communications--for example, an outward-facing blogging initiative implicitly gives employees permission to speak to the press, analysts, customers and clients.